


The time of Peace

by Lakritzwolf



Series: Flufftober 2018 [21]
Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies)
Genre: Battle of Five Armies - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, BotFA Fix-It, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-21
Updated: 2018-10-21
Packaged: 2019-08-05 13:06:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16368209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lakritzwolf/pseuds/Lakritzwolf
Summary: Flufftober Challenge 2018: Trope SundayThree - Everyone Lives AU





	The time of Peace

**Author's Note:**

  * For [islandkate](https://archiveofourown.org/users/islandkate/gifts), [Chelidona (Hobbity)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hobbity/gifts), [Khim_Azaghal](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Khim_Azaghal/gifts), [Linane](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Linane/gifts).



“All hail Fili, King under the Mountain!”

The cheering and clapping and stomping of the crowd that was gathered in the grand hall of Erebor shook the very foundations of the mountain. And then Fili stepped forth and lifted his arms.

“Dwarves of Erebor!” Fili called, his voice carrying towards the last corner of the hall due to its perfectly engineered construction. “Friends, both old and new, family, and comrades! Today, we celebrate our victory! We celebrate our strength! We celebrate our perseverance!”

Loud cheers and clapping and the stomping of boots answered his last words.

“For one year ago,” Fili went on, “we won back what was taken from us so long ago! We regained our home, our birthright! What was taken from us by fire, we reclaimed with blood!”

Fili waited until the wave of cheers had ebbed off again.

“But let us not forget to thank those who fought beside us, bled beside us, but who cannot share our celebration today. Let us honour them with a moment of our thoughts.”

Silence fell as if the close to thousand dwarves had all suddenly turned to stone. There wasn’t one among them who had not lost a comrade, friend or family member that day, a year ago, when they had won the battle and had reclaimed their home. Their right hands on their hearts the dwarves of Erebor stood as one, eyes cast down, in silent memory, until Fili raised his voice again.

“And now, we shall do as they all would have wanted us to do. We shall not forget them, but we will embrace our life, and we will celebrate our victory!”

The cheering was ear-battering now, but eventually the noise calmed down into the merriment of dwarves who gather around barrels of ale being rolled into the hall.

Kili, right hand of the King and always at his side, leaned towards the throne and looked at the people below them with a smile.

“They have deserved this feast.”  
“They have,” Fili agreed. “We all do.”  
“If only Thorin could be here to celebrate it with us,” Kili said then with a heavy sigh.

The brothers exchanged a look, and neither of them could stop the tiny smile. But there was no one who saw it.

The celebration was already well underway when the arrival of more guests was announced; a delegation from the Blue Mountains. They had come with a large caravan with goods and gifts, and quite a few people who wanted to settle down in Erebor despite not having been born there.

There were also some humans from Dale who had joined the celebration, and even a small group of elves, and even those paid their respects, and as a gift had brought a few bows made in elvish fashion but of dwarfish size.

Fili welcomed everyone. The gates of Erebor were open to all friends, no matter what language their mothers had used to sing them to sleep.

After that however, Fili vanished into his chambers and rid himself of the heavy regal attire and the crown. Dressed in comfortable leather and linen he joined the celebration of his people as one of them, not his king, but his brother always at his side.

They shared drinks with so many people that they eventually found themselves in a small side corridor, coming back from the visit to the privies, when Kili pushed his brother against the wall. Relaxed from the feasting and drinking Fili didn’t resist, nor caring who might want to have any business with him. Tonight, he wasn’t King under the Mountain. Tonight, he was Fili, and if his beloved wanted to kiss him breathless against the rough wall of a dimly lit corridor, then who was to stop him?

Someone who pointedly cleared his throat, apparently.

The two parted, unwillingly, to look whoever had the nerve to get between them. But the moment they recognised him, they both let go of each other to embrace their old friend.

“Bofur!” Fili slapped him so hard on the back he almost stumbled. “What news, friend?”  
“Have you been to the Shire?” Kili asked eagerly.  
“Oh aye,” Bofur replied and adjusted his hat that Fili’s hug attack had dislodged. “And I have three barrels of Old Toby for the royal treasury.”

That brought a bright, happy grin to the brothers’ faces.

“And I also have news from a mutual friend,” Bofur went on with an even broader smile. “I found him in best health and spirits, and he sends his regards, and regrets about not being able to attend the celebration.”

With that, Bofur reached into a large pouch at his belt and produced a sealed and slightly crumpled letter.

Fili snatched it out of his hand, and Kili followed on his heels until they reached the nearest torch.

_My dear sister-sons,_

_I hope this finds you well, although I have not heard news of any other war, so I assume the best. Life in the Shire is growing on me, and Bilbo tries to make a hobbit of me yet. I have to admit though that I am hopeless in the kitchen and that my cooking skills make him despair._

_Fili, my lad, I often keep thinking of the weight of the crown, and that it must be exceptionally heavy for you on a day like this. So I implore you, Kili, to keep him from falling into the same darkness that almost consumed me._

Fili and Kili exchanged a look, and Kili licked his lips with a tiny flick of his tongue, and twitched his eyebrows. Fili’s eyes were glued to his brother’s mouth for a moment before he looked at the parchment again.

_I feel, no, I know, that dying and leaving that life behind is the best decision I could have made. For I have found peace here. And I am content, far away from politics, diplomacy, and other burdens._

_Bilbo sends his best regards and I am to tell you that his husband is a lumbering troll who keeps forgetting to take off his boots upon entering the smial. In his defence I can say that to dwarves, the thought of taking off any garments other than to go to bed is a foreign concept, but he shall adjust in time. Luckily, Bilbo is very forgiving._

_I am to tell you that he does not forgive me that I let his oxtail stew burn the other day. Yes, he is looking over my shoulder as I write this. He also says that if his highness should ever decide to journey east on an important mission then he has always clean sheets on the beds in the guestrooms. Tea is at five, as you remember._

_So you see, Hobbit life agrees with me, if not with my wardrobe. I had to add holes to my belt twice already, but I am to tell you now that Bilbo insists it makes his husband even more of a pleasure to look at. I stand abashed, but you know him and his direct, open ways. I would not have him any other way._

_With this I shall end this letter as Bilbo informs me it is time for elevensies and Bofur is to take the letter with him after our meal._

_Mahals blessings to you, my sister-sons._

_T._

The brothers exchanged a soft smile, and after reading the letter a second time, Fili held it to the torch and set it on fire, making sure that every last bit of the parchment was turned to ashes before they left the dark corridor again.

Later that evening, as they shared a quiet pipe in their bedchamber, with the fire crackling merrily in the hearth, they also shared some memories, good and bad ones, from bygone times in the Blue Mountains, and their journey, and the time thereafter.

“But now,” Kili said as they had emptied their pipes and set them on the mantelpiece to cool, “now I shall heed our beloved uncle’s words.”  
“And do what?” Fili asked, a glint in his eyes.  
“Remind you that you are still a dwarf, made of flesh and bones even if those bones are solid as rocks.”

He settled down on his knees before his brother, between Fili’s knees.

“And I shall remind you that no matter if you wear a crown or not, you are mine first and foremost. Not the king, but Fili. My love.”

Fili looked down at him with soft eyes and buried his fingers into Kili’s hair, unbraided and wild as he always got rid of complicated braidings in the comfort of their own chambers.

“My love,” Fili whispered huskily as Kili undid his belt, and then for quite a while, he was not able to say anything else.

Later, as they lay naked in their bed, limbs entwined and skin against skin, they listened to each other’s heartbeat, and shared the air between them as their foreheads rested together.

They were king and consort, but now, here, in these quiet moments when flickering firelight danced across naked skin, they just were. Just them. Just Fili and Kili.


End file.
